


The 5 times Harold and John kissed and the 1 time they didn't

by xxsatinangelxx



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2016-06-02
Packaged: 2018-07-11 21:50:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7071856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxsatinangelxx/pseuds/xxsatinangelxx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What the Title says. This is mostly fluff. Each chapter is a different kiss. Harold/John. May contain spoilers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It had all started that night. The night that they’d found John barely alive in barely above freezing temperatures with hyperthermia and a bad wound to his side. When Harold and Root had driven out to see what had happened and they found John sitting in the driver’s seat to that car, muttering incoherent things to someone. Someone Harold later learned was Carter. 

Harold took note of the hole in the glass in the drivers side window, Despite the massive hole and spideweb like shatter pattern in the glass, it still stood firmly in place. However Harold was under no impression that it would last forever one strong window or tap in the right place and it would shatter into as many pieces as the pattern would indicate. 

Harold couldn’t help but draw parallels between that glass and John, how one wrong move could break John into unrecognisable, irreparable pieces or worse. Even after they called in the crime scene and drove John to the hospital, Harold had never let go of John’s hand. He refused to, not after he’d almost lost John again. He couldn't do that. He wouldn't do that. 

“Harold” John whispered in his delusional high fevered state. They were about 10 minutes from the hospital, Root was driving crazy fast to get John to the hospital in time while Harold allowed his lap to be used as a head rest. 

Harold knew what he had said that day they decided to work together but Harold had realised not soon after that day, with a heavy heart, he’d give up almost anything to save John. Even the machine. At one point the only way Harold had been able to explain to root his reasoning was to ask her what she’d do if it was between the machine and Sameen. It had faltered Root in her usual one track Team Machine mind because it became apparent to the hacker just what her friend had admitted to her and even made her question her own commitments. Harold had only come to the painful conclusion of how he felt after that conversation with Root

“John. It’s okay. You’re going to be okay. We’re taking to you the hospital. Detective Riley called in the events at the cabin” Harold almost hated himself seeming to care more about their covers than John’s life. 

Watching John almost dying had painfully brought the mind to the place Harold hoped it would never go. A world without John would be perhaps the dimmest world Harold will ever know. Even after Nathan’s death, even after all the places he went afterwards to mourn the loss of his friend, Harold realised there was nothing he wouldn’t go through with to avenge John, if such an act became necessary. 

“Harold” John whispered again, this time his tone more of a question than a statement. 

“I’m right here John” John’s body jerked and rolled with every bump they went over to get to the hospital. Harold did his best to hold John in place. 

“Stay with me” He whispered so gently Harold thought maybe he imagined it, but the demand for reassurance in John’s eyes confirmed what he thought he’d heard. 

“Always John, Always” Harold let a tear escape as he leaned down and put his lips against John’s fevered temple. John had to know what he meant to Harold, even if it couldn’t expressed in words. 

“Thank you” John whispered before his face fell to the side, burying it between Harold’s legs and stomach. 

They came to a grinding halt outside the ambulance bay of New York General Hospital. Root rushed inside to grab the closest nurse. A minute later they arrived with a stretcher and medical hands ready to help him. 

“I’m right here John” Harold called as he did his best to keep up with the rushing Nurses as they wheeled him inside the hospital and straight in for trauma surgery to remove the bullet, all the while trying to warm his freezing cold body. 

“I’m not going anyway. I’ll be waiting” Harold called desperately, praying the antiseptic didn’t knock him out before those words registered in John’s mind. All Harold could do now was wait. By god he hated waiting.


	2. Chapter 2

The next time a kiss had become necessary is perhaps maybe a couple months after John had recovered from his 3 operations and almost a month in and out of hospital. 

Harold had had to make himself known to those in John’s life. His captain, who had come to visit him while he was unconscious. Lionel, as publicly they’d never met. His Doctor friend, Iris. Harold came to every appointment, everything and anything John needed he got without a second thought. Harold knew people were taking notice of how caring he was for John but considering he'd come so close to losing the only friend he truly had he could live with a few judgemental doctors and Detectives. 

It’d been a long few couple months, John was on about 10 different types of medication to help him his body temperature up while managing his pain. Harold had tried to insist that he keep taking the tablets after they left the hospital, but John’s job required him to be sharp minded and having that many drugs in his system wasn’t good for anyone. So Harold kept a close eye on him, even Bear had become John’s own personal bodyguard. Everyone who came within 10 feet of John that he didn’t trust got a bark and a growl aimed at them. 

“Harold” John’s voice echoed across the ballroom they were currently in. Their latest numbers needed at least two members of their team on hand to keep an eye on them. So this Gala was their only event to become acquainted with the gay couple they were currently keeping their eye on, without it seeming suspicious. 

“John” Harold spoke gently. Their covers for the event obviously needed to be played, as one part of the couple, the alpha male of the two Robert was currently watching them with a inquisitive eye. 

“May I?” John asked, a small smile on his lips as he looked at Harold. 

Harold took his hand and allowed John to lead him to the dancefloor. They set themselves into a slow pace, back and forth, around and around. John took most of the weight knowing Harold’s leg wouldn’t take much of this. 

“Remind me again why we had to pretend to be a couple to get our numbers to trust us?” John asked, a smirk playing at his lips. He was enjoying himself and Harold had to wonder if part of that was because of how close they were. No one could hurt Harold when he was this close to John. 

“Because” Harold answer, his tone gentle. “They a gay couple turned art thieves. Unless you wanted to risk having covers as international art thieves, an expert field where everyone knows everyone and get caught…”   
“Okay Harold. I was only asking” His deep tone full of amusement. “Not enjoying yourself Harold?” John teased, glancing down at Harold, fully aware of how close they were as he did so. 

Harold surprised John then by reaching up and closing the gap between them. The kiss had meant to be a cover because the other half of their mission Greg was on his way over here. What Harold hadn’t expected was the explosion of passion and spark he felt as his lips touched John’s. John didn’t miss a beat, holding onto Harold will all his strength, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss. 

“Wow. Wow guys keep it PG alright? This is a Gala, not an orgy” Greg joked as he came to stand beside them, doing his rounds with people. Harold and John separately slowly, neither wanting to look at the other as Greg introduced himself. 

Neither paid much mind to what they had just experiences, even if both had known that Root had been at the other end of the security feeds and had probably saved it as evidence for when they find Shaw. 

They set to the mission at hand, getting to know Robert and Greg until a rival art thief crashed the party, shot a few warning shots and sent everyone screaming. John saved the day as per usual but as Harold watched with the rest of the party attendees, Harold could only touch his lips as a smile grew on his face. 

That kiss would be the pleasure of his dreams to come for the foreseeable future


	3. Chapter 3

The next kiss had been to amuse Root, more than actual necessity. 

If there was one fact about Root that hadn’t escaped the team's notice, it was that she got into the holidays with a passion. Mistletoe absolutely everywhere they turned. The subway station they used as a Headquarters had gone from drape and dim to beaming with life and colour in the space of the 3 hours they'd be out clearing another number.

Harold had to admit, they could do with leaving some of the lights she’d put up, up there. It gave the place a more welcoming feel. Not that that was the point with a secret underground subway Headquarters but still, he liked it. 

“Oh come on. For me? It’s Christmas” Root pleaded. 

She wanted family photos, she wanted ones of every possible group. Since getting Shaw back she’d been more adamant than ever to make their little family as happy as she could. Her and Shaw had a few photos together, evident by the few dozen photos she’d put up around the HQ. Something Neither John nor Harold minded much because each photo had them smiling and considering the amount of trauma and mayhem they saw in their lives, a few smiling photos of people they cared about was good for a soul. 

Reluctantly the team agreed to be Root’s models while she took the photos, they even allowed her to tell them how to take photos to include her in it. She’d taken pictures of the five of them together as a selfie, it wasn’t the best angles but it was a photo of her family so she didn’t really seem to care. 

She got pictures of everyone in pairs, Bear with everyone, root with everyone. Then she got them in threes. Root and Shaw with Bear, Root and shaw with Harold etc. It was only when it was Harold, Bears and John's turn did Root get an idea. She’s already snapped a picture of Harold sitting in his wheelie chair, John leaning against the desk where his computer set up was, his hand on Harold’s shoulder while Bear sat waiting for commands from Root. 

“Now kiss” Everyone but Bear starred at her for a moment. 

“Kiss?” Harold asked, his voice a few decibels higher than last he spoke. 

“Yes Harry. Kiss. Your lips on John, John’s lips on yours. Kiss. But not just anywhere. Over there”

“Under the mistletoe” Shaw added as if it weren’t obvious, her tone surprisingly normal considering she was using all her strength to hide a snigger. 

“Why?” Harold asked, confused. “What could you possibly gain from taking such a photo?” 

“Oh you mean apart from blackmail material for the rest of your lives… nothing. Please just do it for me. You’ve walked under the mistletoe already. Just let me capture the moment” John surprised everyone by stepping forward and holding out his hand. 

“Might as well let them have the blackmail material Harold. Otherwise we’ll get worse later on” Root beamed as Harold took John’s hand and allowed him to pull him up from his chair. Harold muttered something under his breath but followed John to their ordered places. 

“I always knew you were smarter than you looked John” 

“Thanks?” John asked, with no amusement in his tone. 

They set themselves under the mistletoe. Bear followed them and came to stand between them as ordered to by Root. Harold and John waited until Root said go and then they leaned forward and kissed, both awkwardly waiting until they saw the flash of the camera. It wasn't the most glamous or romantic of kisses but considering it was under mistletoe that could be forgiven. They pulled away as quickly as they had made their lips meet but if Root’s smile was any indication you have believed it was the romantic thing she’d ever seen. 

“Now bend down and kiss bear, both of you” Both silently did as they were told. Harold using John as a support, they bent down and Root snapped a couple photos. 

===========

The following morning, when they all meet up to have Christmas dinner together, their latest numbers keeping them busy pretty much all day on Christmas day. Root handed each of them two things, an envelope and a rectangle shape present. They all unwrapped it at the same time. 

Each of them had a photo frame with the word ‘Family’ engraved in gold at the bottom of the basic white frames. Inside said frames held their group photo, all five them. Harold and John standing behind Sameen and Root who both sat on chairs either side of where Bear sat starring at the camera like instructed. The photo almost looked formal, if not for the goofy smiles on all their faces as Bear’s farted.

“Thank you Miss. Grooves. It’s quite stunning” John and Sameen could only smile in agreement. 

“Now open the envelopes” Root gushed. 

To say Root was more excited than anyone else was, seemed an understatement. Inside each of their envelopes held every photo Root had taken. Some were from Security feeds, some were from moments none of them had known photos were being taken and some were from the other day. Every photo had something in common though. They all showed the love this family had for one another. 

Harold caught John starring at the couple of photos that included him locking lips with John. John held up another photo then, of all four of them kissing Bear’s face. 

“Now this is my favourite” John spoke with a smile in his tone. Everyone hummed their agreement and a long winded debate broke about between Root and Bear. Bear had heard his name from where he sat on the floor beside them. He looked confused, poor dog. 

Harold reached into his own envelope and pulled out collage of about 8 photos of when Root had asked for them to put their head close to Bear’s. The first couple photos were normal, smiling at the camera photos but then Bear had started kissing Harold’s face, pushing him to the ground. He remembered the sound of John’s full hearted laughter as Bear started attacking him too. Somehow Harold and John had ended up laying side by side, Bear between them laying down, kissing them both in turn.

Harold decided in that moment the only kiss he enjoyed more than Bears was John’s and that realisation set him in a giddy happiness that had the team asking if he was okay more than once throughout their dinner.


	4. Chapter 4

The 4th time they kissed had been a rather close call for them both. It’d been another one of those days that seemed painfully easy and yet the moment the realisation hit them of how bad this day was going to get, it was too late to stop it and far too late to do anything but try and save themselves. 

Luckily because of the broadness of the line of car bombs exploding right next to central park, Paramedics barely had time to breath between medical cases, let alone take names and social security numbers. 

They’d gotten separated. Harold had been blown a feet dozen feet further than John, maybe because he was lighter than John or perhaps John had been expecting to kick back for than Harold so grounded his feet more. Whatever the reason John hated it, he hated knowing that Harold could be hurt or worse. He hated that he’d allowed for even a moment for Harold to escape his protective grasp. 

He catches sight of Shaw first, she was crouching over someone, when he saw who it was he held his breath for a few moments. Root. Unconscious, bleeding from the head. John rushed over to her, his military training kicking in before even had time to register what it was. 

“She okay?” John asked, his usual unconcerned tone threading through. She glanced up at John with a tear stained face. 

“They think so. I’m waiting for them to come back with bandages so I can bandage her up. She’s been in and out for about 10 minutes now. Where’s Harold?” The mention of Harold brought John back to his mission, the mission he only faltered in to check his other friends were okay. 

“John” John spun on his heel so quickly he almost didn’t steady himself in time. He caught sight of Harold, his bad leg actually seemed okay. He wasn’t limping anymore. Apart from a shred of scrap metal sticking out of his arm he seemed okay. John didn’t waste time checking him over for any smaller injuries. Despite his relief he had to get close enough to know he was truly okay. John weaved his way through the crowd with a grace only black ops could teach you. 

When he got close enough, it was obvious Harold was nervous as to where to put his hands, what kind of action he was allow to express his relief that John was okay. John however didn’t allow him a moment of hesitation as he placed his hands on the professors cheeks and kissed him. Once, then twice, then three times. Until he was completely sure Harold was okay. Harold gripped at John’s shirt, pulling the blood stained and dirty covered fabric closer to him. 

Harold buried himself inside the scent of John for a long while. Allowing himself to truly feel the relief that he hadn’t lost another friend to yet another surprising explosion. 

“You’re not losing me that easily Harold” John whispered in his partners ear. Harold glanced up and smiled. 

“As I expect Mr. Reese” John’s chuckle vibrated through to Harold's fingers that still had a tight grip on John’s shirt. 

“Am I supposed to ask about the limp Harold?” Harold shook his head. 

“For the time being. I just want to relish in that fact that we’re alive. What about Root and Shaw?” Realising they’d been a few feet away when the explosion hit. 

“Shaw’s fine, stubborn as ever and from what Shaw tells me Root will be fine once she’s bandaged up and gains consciousness for more than 40 seconds at a time. Here she’s over here” 

With that John led Harold towards the other members of their team.

“Are you okay Ms. Shaw?” Shaw smiled at Harold, obviously having seen their moment just a second ago. 

“Nothing a little sleep can’t cure Harold. Where’s Bear? Wasn’t he with you and Wonder boy when the bombs went off?” That’s when a familiar bark echoed across the park. There was Bear carrying a young child by the fabric of his t-shirt from one of the car wrecks. 

John jumped into Action, taking the child from his grip and setting to work on checking for vitals while Harold took to trying to get a paramedic to help. Shaw then, with Root under sedatives to ease her pain, ordered bear with her to help pull others from the wreckage. They might not have been able to prevent this crime but they sure as hell could minimise the lives it took. It didn't go unnoticed to any of them, that reassuring glances were exchanged all day. Shaw noticed how John, despite having his own job to do, would shadow Harold at every moment he was able to. 

They were each other's worlds, Shaw could only wait for the day they both realise this for themselves.


	5. Chapter 5

Harold had been arrested. For murder. By Detective Riley.

It was a situation was Harold trying to keep the guy from dying but then getting caught by the police close enough near to their victim in a compromising position that if John hadn’t arrest Harold, his cover life would be under question and even Harold would agree nothing was worth that risk. 

So here they sat opposite each other, looking more amused than they should considering Captain Morenu and Lionel were on the other side of the glass listening to every word. 

“Professor Whistler” John spoke, his voice sounding it's usual silk. 

“Harold please” John gave a brief nod. 

“Harold…Can I ask what you were doing in the hotel restaurant of the Grande New York Hotel these evening?” 

“Having dinner?” Harold poked, knowing full well he hadn't killed the person he'd been arrest for killing but more importantly John would never let him go for it, even if he had shot him 5 times in the chest with a hundred or more witnesses. 

“This isn’t the time for joke Harold” John rolled his eyes as Shaw made a quip in both their ears about it being the perfect time to make jokes. Root right along with her. 

“Fine” Harold huffed, more than a little frustrated that he’d gotten arrested in the first place. 

“I was having dinner with a friend. We were discussing the merits of different types of wine when I saw Mr. Trueman choking, I moved over to help. When I got close enough a gun shot rang out across the restaurant, sending everyone screaming. I stood there too shocked and too blood soaked to do anything”

“You sure you didn’t pull the trigger yourself Harold? He was being rather loud…boasting about how much money he was making. I’ve checked your finances, you’re barely scraping by”  
Harold laughed, actually amused. 

“Does that usually work Detective Riley? The man was an arrogant and a little naive to think privacy wasn't his friend but that doesn’t mean I killed him. Besides if I wanted to kill someone, Detective Riley… I wouldn’t shoot them, getting myself covered in blood and then stand there like a moth to a flame, waiting to be caught. It makes no sense”   
John folded his folder back shut. 

“You’re right Harold, it doesn’t make sense. So why don’t you tell me what you saw…outside of the shooting that might send us in the direction of a suspect?” 

So Harold did. He detailed the shooter being in a waiter's uniform and running towards the east exit. 

“You know your way around a room Harold” Harold smiled. 

“First thing you always do when you walk into a room, Is check all your exits. An old friend who was in the army, instilled that in me a couple years ago and since the explosion 6 months ago. I’ve taken to practicing such things” 

The detective only raised any eyebrow at his suspect. 

"Oh and what else did this friend instill in you. Professor?" Harold smirked. 

"Always carry a weapon, even if it's something as simple as knowledge and always be willing to kill a friend to get out of a tough spot"

John stood up, moving to leave the room. His file in his hand. As if to mock Harold he placed his fingertips to his lips, and blew Harold a kiss. A seductive smirk on his lips as he flew the kiss to Harold. 

"Before you disappear detective... would you mind removing the cuffs and letting me go? I'd very much like to get home to feed my dog" John nodded, placing his folder back down and leaning over Harold to unlock the handcuffs. 

"Would you consider this a tight spot... Harold?" John pulled away, placing the cuffs back in his back pocket. 

"Depends detective..."

"On what?" 

"On whether or not you're trying to spook me or seduce me" John blinked, not missing a beat. 

"What if I'm trying to do both?" John offered in question, his voice as low as it could get. 

Harold leaned up and pecked his cheek, winking at him cheekly before standing up and heading towards the door. 

"You'd have to buy me dinner first... Detective" Harold left them, leaving John starring after him with a soft smile on his face. Harold could almost hear lionel's comment from the observation room. 

"Way to go Glasses" Harold walked out of the station with nothing but a smile as evidence of his experience. WIthin the hour he'd be covering all his bases and probably panicking about his cover being so close to being blown, but right now he could only concentrate on the memory of John being so close and flirting with him.


End file.
